Need for blood
by MNLMFangirl
Summary: When a new development about Near comes into play Mello must find a way to get Near to agree with his plan before he loses a major part of his life. Can a single major event end up bringing even a pair of legendary rivals together or will it only cause them to create a wider gap between them? Warning: Violence, some blood, mention of mpreg, yaoi and rated T for safety.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue:

"You won't be able to live off of your blood supplement pills and animal blood forever. You need human blood." A black haired male hisses to a smaller male.

"I'd rather try than feed off of humans. Murdering them." The smaller states.

"You're not human and no matter how much you try to act like one of them you will never truly fit in with them. All you're doing is getting food for yourself even at the cost of lives. Everyone dies at some point in this Hellish world so you are only helping them escape the pain and misery this damned world brings upon them." The black haired male states a little angrily then his voice shows signs of concerned in it. "Besides if you don't do this then you will die and you know how long you have but your body will grow weaker until that time." He crouches down in front of the smaller locking eyes. "You'll starve for the blood of a human until you go insane going on a killing rampage until your hunger is satisfied. You'll expose us as who we really are unless you know how to keep yourself from going on a killing rampage." He then stands back up to his normal height. "You kill animals! What's the difference?"

The smaller turns away and looks back to the raven over his shoulder. "I'd rather die by starvation then take the life of humans. They deserve to live their lives as they are like me and I have no right to take their life away from them. If I do take their lives I'm nothing more than a murderer." He turns to face forward then walks away heading towards the door of the abandoned building the three are standing in.

The third male who is a brunette that has been completely silent until now walks over to the raven haired male.

"You'd better think about that again! Take the blood of a human and you'll see it's not so bad! We'll be awaiting you to do so and we will be watching you!" The raven calls to the smaller as the smaller leaves. "You'd better not go through with starving yourself." He mutters linking hands with the male that hasn't said a word yet.

"He needs us and needs to understand that nothing will change what he is. Give him a little time to figure that out." The male finally speaks giving a kiss to the raven's cheek. "Plus we'll be there watching over him. We'll step in as soon as needed we just need to give him time to figure things out."

The raven sighs softly. "Yeah I know. I just worry about him. He is our son after all and I don't want to see him die."

"I know. I know." The male lays his head on the ravens shoulder. "I feel the same but he's at the age that he needs to figure it out for himself. Some kids at his age jump right into it while others need a little time to figure some things out. He's one that needs to figure things out by himself and no matter how much training and prepping we gave him before won't change that. He'll come around and all we need to do is be there for him as well as be a little patient with him."

The raven nods.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter one:

Near sits bored in class not even listening to the teacher talk as he already knows enough on the lesson she's teaching today like most days for him. He turns away looking out the window not like the teacher cares because he's the top student here…. Though he doesn't really care about that as he's really just a bored student who just knows enough to be at the top.

There's the feeling of someone glaring at him for a second before it goes away and he doesn't even need to turn around to know its Mello.

Mello is ranked as second in the orphanage right behind Near himself thus the blonde haired genius became jealous, of mostly the albino boy, claiming to hate the platinum haired boy.

Near really thinks that if Mello had calmed down and thought things through more then he might even be ranked number around here…. But for him to calm down and think things through isn't going to happen.

Mello is undeniably smart but he has temper issues and he prefers to go with his gut more often than not. He doesn't always think things through even getting into fights with others because of something or other.

The two are considered rivals with only Mello having seeming hateful feelings towards Near that is most likely just jealousy.

Near sighs softly making sure it's under his breath as to not gain anyone's attention. He wishes that things were different between him and the blonde who is sitting in the desk right across from Near's desk in the row next to the one Near's desk is in. He has grown too really like Mello though he doesn't let others know not like he actually converses with anyone unless you include when Linda is blabbing in his ear while he ignores her. He clenches his teeth slightly at the thought. 'Linda is so annoying.' He thinks to himself. 'I can't believe she is stupid enough to not notice I'm ignoring her. Maybe I need to inform her I find her annoying.' He has thought about this before but if he even tries to say something to her she will freak out over something like a fan girl and it's getting on his nerves. He takes a deep breath through his nose and too late does he realize that's a bad idea. He clenches his fist and clenches his teeth keeping himself from attacking the nearest person.

Lucky for him the bell rings and he stands leaving the room ignoring the others as he heads to his own room.

He closes the door behind himself and leaning his back against it he slides down the door till he is sitting on the white carpet of his room. He sighs letting himself relax in the isolation of his room away from others. He closes his eyes leaning his head back against the door. 'How long do I have?' He wonders and begins calculating in his head. 'It's been seven days so far and there's a maximum of twenty four days. I have seventeen days at most.' He opens his eyes looking to the ceiling.

For a few seconds after he blinks things turn to red only to flicker then vanish to allow his normal vision come back.

He lowers his head so his chin is resting against his chest. "If I were to disappear would the orphanage look for me out of care? ….. No. They will look because I am the most obvious choice to succeed L." He already knows that the orphanage mostly cares about him since he is ranked number one with smaller amount of care of him as who he is. He raises his head to see a real live vampire bat hovering outside with the setting sun turning the sky orange. He shakes his head. "No. Give me more time."

The vampire bat opens its mouth letting out a small high-pitched sound as if to respond before turning flying away into the distance.

Near sighs and gets up going over to the window closing the curtains making his room dimer. He doesn't bother to turn on the lights as the dim light doesn't bug him as he sits on his bed looking down to his hands on his lap. "More time…." He whispers to himself.

Meanwhile…

Mello paces in his room as Matt sits on the blonde's bed playing his D.S.

Matt's fingers move quickly in the familiar pattern that he knows so well from beating the game before probably many times.

"Argh!" Mello groans in frustration. "Near won't get his stupid self out of my head. That little twit."

Matt chuckles while still focusing on his game. "Oh you're horny."

Mello gives Matt a good smack to the back of his head almost making the red head drop his game.

Matt rubs the back of his head looking up at Mello through orange lensed goggles. "Ow."

Mello leans against the wall pulling out a chocolate bar tearing off the top part of the wrapping only to start eating the chocolate that was hidden underneath the wrapping. "Don't say such fucked up things." He snorts.

Matt rolls his eyes and continues playing his game. "Yeah whatever."

After a few seconds of silence other than the clicks coming from Matt playing his game said gamer speaks up again.

"But I'm sure you noticed something up with Near." He says not looking up from his game.

Mello pauses with his partly eaten chocolate bar hovering by his slightly parted lips frozen in position to take another bite. He lowers the chocolate bar down slightly as he turns to Matt. "What?" He had been too focused on taking notes to try to beat Near in the upcoming ranking test next month to notice anything with Near except for with a second long glare.

Matt finishes his game and closes his D.S. putting it beside him on the bed. "Well you were taking notes. But something seemed different almost like he was holding back from attacking someone." He looks to the blonde. "He also went straight to his room instead of to the common room like he usually does. Strange huh?"

Mello smirks letting anyone looking at him know he has devious thoughts running through his mind like a mental marathon. "Something wrong with Near you say?"

Before Matt can say anything else Mello is out of the room heading down the hall to Near's room.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter two:

The knocks make Near look up to the door through the darkness of his room.

He doesn't say anything hoping that whoever it is will just go away.

"Near! Open the door!" Mello's voice says from the other side of the closed door.

Near sighs and looks to the curtains that cover the window. "Come in Mello." He calls emotionless.

Mello opens the door and enters the room blinking at the darkness of the room. "What are you doing sitting in the dark?" He goes over to the window pulling the curtains open to let the setting suns dying light into the room. He turns to the bed and sees Near sitting there twirling his hair looking the same as Mello knows him to be. "So something's bugging you." He says with a smirk.

Near looks to the blonde meeting the blue eyes with his own stormy grey ones. "I am fine. I would thank you for your concern but I doubt that you came here out of concern."

Mello goes to stand right in front of Near making the mostly albino boy get waves of the blonde's scent washing over him like a thick blanket thanks to the closeness. "Near there is something you are hiding." He says with the same smirk on his face.

Near holds himself back using his willpower to keep himself from attacking Mello but the blondes sweet scent that keeps washing over him is making it hard to hold back. He almost grips the blankets on his bed that he is sitting on and his twirling of his hair becomes more vigorous. "Mello We all have secrets, even you. It is human nature to have at least one thing we keep from others." He points out to the other. "Now may you leave?"

Mello's eyes narrow and his smirk disappears to a frown. He lets out a small growl. "What is it cotton ball? You don't like me being so close to you?" He leans down leaning closer to Near regaining his smirk as Near leans a few inches away. He doesn't miss that Near's hand resting on the bed is now gripping the sheets while his finger twirling his hair wraps the strand of hair around his finger freezing in motion.

"Mello will you stop this nonsense." Near demands not showing any other signs of being affected.

Mello almost laughs. "Oh Near. I am having too much fun with this. Besides something is up with Mr. Perfect number one. I can't pass up on this chance." He rewraps his chocolate bar putting it in his pocket.

Near clenches his teeth as he feels that it's taking everything he has to hold back. "Mello leave." He demands through clenched teeth trying to warn the blonde. "Just leave and close the door behind you but don't come back in."

"Aww what's the matter cotton ball?" Mello almost purrs in mock concern.

Near hisses. "Just leave!" He looks down so his chin is against his chest with both hands now clenching the bed sheets below him.

"The robotic Near seems to be malfunctioning." Mello teases soaking up every second of seeing Near show more than his regular emotionless empty shell look. He ignores the small warning to leave as he can't leave especially since Near isn't being his usual robotic self right now which is a once in a blue moon chance to witness.

Near lets out a growl through clenched teeth. "Mello get out of this room right now. It is for your own good."

Mello's face turns to an analyzing expression as his eyes narrow. "Oh really Near? You really think you can get rid of me that easily? I can't pass up this opportunity to see you without that emotionless mask on that damned face of yours."

Near lets out a feral sounding growl and he suddenly lets go of the sheets leaping at Mello pushing the other to the ground.

Mello gets ready to fight the other as he is pushed to the ground with the other on top of him. "What the Hell Near!" He snaps and before he can say another peep his eyes meet Nears own making him freeze.

Near's eyes look predatory like Mello is his prey and the color of his slightly narrowed eyes are now a blood red instead of his usual wide stormy grey eyes.

Mello can feel the coolness of Near's skin like it is missing the warmth of a living human being but it's colder than the times Mello has punched him or grabbed him. He stares into those blood red eyes and the feeling of fear that something bad going to happen creeps into the back of his mind.

Near pauses and blinks. His eyes fade back to the usual stormy grey color, with Mello watching it happen, and his eyes widen in what seems to be fear. He quickly gets off of the blonde standing and quickly turns away from Mello.

Mello sits up. "Near…"

Near interrupts him with a very demanding voice. "Go! Just leave me alone." He doesn't turn to face Mello instead keeping his eyes on the floor in the area under the window. "Just go." He says in a slightly softer tone.

Mello stands and stares at Near for a moment. "What is going on Near?" He asks the other replaying what happened in his head.

"Please just leave now Mello. Before I do something I'll regret." Near almost begs Mello as his fists clench slightly.

Mello opens his mouth to protest but Near calculated he would protest.

"Leave. Not for me but for your safety." He tells Mello.

Mello clenches his teeth. "Near! What the fuck was that! Tell me now!" He reaches towards the other only to get his hand slapped away by one of Near's unclenched hand.

Near turns and leaves the room walking past Mello without another word.

Mello chases after Near wanting answers but when he exits the room he sees Near turning the corner. He dashes to follow the other but when he turns the corner Near is gone. He looks around for a little bit however the white haired male is nowhere to be seen. 'What the hell was that Near?' He growls in his head. 'Time to do some research and investigating. You can't hide from me forever.' He heads to his room to look for Matt.

Matt is in his own room playing on his Xbox when Mello barges in. "Hey!" He greets the other still playing his game.

"Matt I need you to do some hacking." Mello tells the red head shutting the door behind himself.

Matt pauses his game and turns to Mello. "Hacking what?"

"I want you to find Near's file." Mello responds reaching for his chocolate bar pulling it out of his pocket.

Matt raises an eyebrow. "Why do you need that?"

"There is something up with him. We could use whatever it is against him." Mello unwraps the chocolate once again and takes a bite out of the brown sugary treat.

Matt gets up putting down his Xbox controller heading to an open laptop sitting on his nightstand. "Lucky for you I have all the files saved on my laptop from a much earlier hack. I have only looked at a few before I went back to playing my games. Yours and Nears are two of the ones that I have not looked at yet." He sits cross legged on his bed putting his laptop on his lap typing away on it.

Now it's Mello's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Really?"

Matt nods. "I swear it's the truth. Ah here we are. Near's file." He pulls it up on the desktop as Mello comes to sit on the bed next to him. "Wow seems he is just a pure mystery."

It is true as the background information on Near is so limited to just saying he came to the orphanage one day with nothing on his past beyond that.

"Look at his real name. Do some digging to see what you can find." Mello instructs the other.

"Aye aye captain." Matt begins typing quickly on the laptops keyboard as he hacks for information using Near's real name.

Many things pop up.

"Well well seems there is something more however everything is protected so it'll take some more hacking to get into it." Matt hums as he continues to hack.

Mello lays his back down onto the bed. "Don't take too long." He begins thinking about the possibilities of what is going on only to come up with the number one answer of Near being a vampire. 'That's impossible! Vampire's don't exist.' He growls to himself in his mind but he can't push away the nagging feeling that he might be wrong and that vampires really do exist.

"The information is infected with a virus. There's no damn way I am infecting my laptop with the virus." Matt tells the other.

Mello sits up and growls. "Damn it. Find a way to get the information." He gets up. "Use another computer or whatever just get that damn information. Then come find me." He leaves the room throwing the wrapper from his no longer existent chocolate bar into the trash as he passes the small trash can in Matt's room. He closes the door behind himself after he leaves. 'What the hell is he hiding!?' He heads out of the orphanage wandering into the forest behind the orphanage just past the soccer field to think

The full moons light brings light to the darkened forest enough that Mello can see ok.

He wanders deeper into the forest when he hears something so he turns to the right following the noise wondering what it is. He crouches behind a bush and looks over it but what he sees makes his eyes widen.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter three:

Just ahead of him is Near crouching holding a rabbit with his teeth sunk into the neck drinking the rabbits blood as the creature deflates like a balloon.

Mello covers his mouth in surprise with a touch of horror. 'He really is a vampire!' He takes a step back lowering his hand from his mouth.

A twig snaps as he steps on it.

Near raises his head taking his teeth out of the rabbit's neck with blood on his lips as well as a drop sliding down his chin from his lips. He looks to Mello with his blood red eyes and bares his teeth showing fangs, that are painted with blood, in a hiss.

Mello stands up knowing he's been spotted.

Near also stands holding the mostly deflated dead rabbit in one hand as his blood red eyes meet Mello's blue ones.

"You're a vampire!" Mello walks out to in front of the bush.

"Now you know. There's no way to hide the truth from you." Near says not looking like he's going to attack Mello even with his blood red eyes, he seems to have satisfied his need for blood for now or well at least enough to not attack Mello. "Well what will you do now?" His gaze doesn't waver.

Mello wonders that himself.

Should he tell Rodger? Would Rodger even believe him and if he does what would happen?

Should he keep it a secret until he can get hard proof against Near to present to the others?

Near turns dropping the rabbit's body into a hole in the ground hidden by a tree root. He kicks the pile of dirt beside the hole back into the hole burying the rabbit's body. He doesn't look to Mello. "It doesn't matter. I don't have long left." He says almost quietly then raises his voice as he glances to Mello. "So do what you want it won't matter." He wipes his mouth with the back of his sleeve in an attempt to clean the blood from his lips as well as the little bit on his chin. He gets most of it off with only a tint on his skin to show where the blood had been.

"What are you talking about?" Mello raises an eyebrow at Near's words.

Near turns to face him with his eyes turning back to stormy grey. "I am leaving soon." He tells the blonde. "I have to. I don't have too many days left so it'll be best if I leave before my times up."

"You make it sound as if you're dying." Mello tilts his head softly.

Near sighs very softly before speaking with half open eyes. "I will if I don't drink human blood." He admits.

Mello is shocked to hear this. "But what about animal blood? Surely that is equivalent to human blood."

Near shakes his head. "Only up to a certain age for vampires. We live off of animal blood or blood supplement pills never drinking human blood for some time until a certain age when we have to drink human blood to survive allowing us to fully let ourselves become fully fledged vampires. If we don't drink human blood we will wither away starving for blood until we go insane from the starvation of blood. Then if we don't find someone in time as we go on a killing rampage due to the insanity as well as need for blood we will die. The insanity only lasts until our hunger is satisfied. As long as I am far enough away from anyone then no one will be hurt and I will die. My hunger for human blood is getting stronger so I'll need to leave soon because the hunger will continue to grow. I can use animal blood to help push down the hunger feeling but it cannot replace the human blood I need."

"How long do you have?" Mello asks curious but a little worried after all Near is the only one able to give him a real challenge to keep him from slaking off.

Near opens his eyes fully again. "Seventeen days at most. Though by morning coming up here it'll sixteen days." He answers honestly. "When we reach the certain age we have twenty four days maximum to drink human blood before we for sure will go insane then die on the twenty fourth day. It is possible for it to happen before twenty four days but it usually happens in a twenty four day period never after twenty four days. I haven't taken any human blood and frankly I don't plan on taking any human blood."

"So it's been a week for you." Mello says doing the calculations in his head.

Near nods.

"Why haven't you drunken any human blood?" Mello questions. "Isn't it vampire instinct to drink human blood?"

Near nods again but this time speaks to answer Mello's question. "We need human blood to survive starting at a certain age since before then we survive on blood supplements like animal blood or these special pills only vampires can buy that you mix in water to create a supplement of blood but I refuse to drink human blood. I refuse to take someone's life. If we are past the certain age for us vampires the blood supplements only help us try to hold out until we can hunt if we can't go out right away. Though we need to watch our hunger and look for the best moment to hunt."

"Do you have to take someone's life to satisfy the hunger?" Mello inquires wanting to find out as much information as he can.

"If we don't take their life when feeding we run the risk of being exposed which will lead to many horrors as I'm sure you can imagine. Plus how will the bite mark that is cold to the touch be explained along with the loss of blood even if the person doesn't remember. In order to cover up our tracks we burry our victims or let them be attacked by a wild animal so it is thought that the animal killed them. Some even burn the body. Whatever disposal we want to use as long as it covers our tracks. Our bite does not have the power to turn someone unless that person drinks our blood or gets it into their system in any way. Once someone is turned they become the vampire that turned them's responsibility so it is rare for someone to be turned. Vampires can inject poisonous venom into our prey to kill them through our bite if needed but we don't like to use it as it soils blood making it taste not as good. The venom is not poisonous to vampires but it is to anything else." Near explains. "I don't see what you can do with this information since no one will believe you that we exist anyways."

Mello growls softly knowing Near is right that no one will believe him without solid proof. "Yeah but what about a willing person? Someone willing to let a vampire drink from them?"

"That only happens when the human is the vampires mate or lover or whatever you want to call it. It is rare for someone who is not with the vampire as a mate or lover to willingly let a vampire drink from them unless a contract is made. A vampire can provide protection and service if the human agrees to not let anyone know of our existence as well as let us drink from them when needed. In order for that to happen both human and vampire have to agree for the contract to come into play. If the contract is broken either by the vampire or human or the human is due to die then the vampire will drink the blood from the human until the human is dead erasing the contract. The human or the vampire can offer the contract." Near keeps his eyes on Mello's. "The contract can be changed if the vampire and human fall in love thus the vampire usually will change the human to stay with their love forever. A contract can be made with another human then but rarely will it happen if the vampire is in love with the human that they most likely turned at that point if feelings are mutual."

"I see. So you plan to just die somewhere instead of embracing being a vampire. Don't you have powers you can use on humans?" Mello stares at Near with a determined look as he soaks up the knowledge he is getting.

"We have some powers which are the usual ability to run faster, heal a lot faster, we are stronger than regular humans, ability to fly without wings and ability to communicate with, as well as turn into, bats. We don't usually turn into bats though because when we turn back we are usually exhausted along with if we live in a place bats don't live in and other than the ability with bats as well as the healing we only can run faster than humans before we drink human blood. We are a little stronger than regular humans but it's not really a big difference that's really to be noted. Our powers don't fully activate until we drink human blood so we can run really fast, a little faster than before, fly, heal a little faster than before but not by much and our strength increases. But there is something else that separates us from humans other than ageing much slower along with being able to drink blood. We have what's called the shinigami eyes. Well we get flashes of it before we drink human blood only to fully get it after drinking human blood. Our eye color stays our normal color instead of turning red like it is said to happen with shinigami eyes unless you count when we get them fully that lasts for a minute as well as when our hunger is not fully satisfied but the hunger is another thing. The eyes I am sure you have read about them before with the little information known about them with most information being legends and myths. The eyes allow us to see a humans name and life span above every single person's heads however our eye sight becomes red. We can turn the red off and on but only for a limited amount of time can we have the red color off to allow us to see normally. The name and life span will not go away when we switch the red off but the red will instantly return if we look to the name and life span. We mainly turn off the red so we can get dressed to look normal. I don't have the eyes since I have yet to drink human blood but like every other vampire before drinking human blood I get flashes of where I have the eyes." Near shrugs slightly not seeming to care about the shinigami eyes. "Other than that our eyes turn to a golden yellow when we are mad, pissed, in rage, angry and such things. If our eyes turn red it means we are hungry so we usually have red eyes when hunting, needing to hunt or are feeding."

"That'd be weird to see names and life spans all the time." Mello hums thoughtfully.

Near shrugs again. "You get used to it." He turns away about to leave.

"What about sunlight? Doesn't it burn you?" Mello asks.

Near hums. "Well it is annoying to us and we have it as recommended to put on really strong sunblock as well as sunglasses when we go outside though we do normally wear clothes that mostly keep as much of our body out of the sun as we can without looking abnormal. The sun if it's bright enough or we forget to put on sunblock then it can burn us but it's not like in the movies where we either melt into ash or burst into flame as that's just from human imagination. Before drinking human blood the sun block isn't really an issue to put on but after we drink human blood our skin becomes a little more sensitive to the sun thus we usually use sunblock. Though with enough cover up we can go out in the sun just not for as long as when we put on sunblock since the sun will start burning us if it is shining brightly enough. As long as we are careful with windows as well as amount of sunlight in a room we don't need to wear sunglasses inside though that mostly affects us when we are fully vampires. So the need for sunglasses in the sun is not as demanding for us before we drink human blood compared to after."

Mello's next words tumble past his lips before he can even process them. "You are not going to die! Make a contract with me!" He growls at himself, mentally beating himself as soon as he processes what he just said.

Near turns to Mello surprised at the others words. "Mello…" He closes his eyes for a moment then reopens them. "I can't bring you into this. I'm not going to hurt you." He turns away again but Mello puts a hand on his shoulder.

"Listen Near." Mello says with his mind going blank letting words that he would normally hold back tumble out of his mouth. "There is no way I can just let you die. Vampire or not you are the only one in the world that can give me a challenge. Make a contract with me and stay alive."

Near glances to Mello not fully turning to the other. "Mello…"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter four:

Mello holds out his wrist, raising his hand from Near's shoulder, to Near. "Make a contract with me. Then you won't have to worry about taking anyone's life because you'll be feeding off of me." He knows that when his mind comes back he is going to mentally beat himself to a pulp but it doesn't concern him at the moment.

Near turns fully to Mello staring into the blonde's eyes. "By the time you are due to die I'll have to take your life. I cannot do that to you."

A vampire bat squeaks getting the two males attention.

"I thought I told you to give me more time." Near talks to the bat.

The bat squeaks from its perch on a nearby tree in response.

Mello wonders what the bat is saying but he can guess by Near's response.

"No. Go tell them that I need more time. Now go on go and tell them." Near tells the bat that flies off after another squeak.

"Them?" Mello tilts his head at Near lowering his wrist to his side.

Near turns to Mello. "The two I see as my parents. Even male vampires can become pregnant if marked by a special mating mark by the dominant vampire. When the mating mark is put on the submissive vampire or uke if you want to call it then other vampires will know that the two vampires have a mate as well as letting the uke become able to have a child if they want. The mating claim is put when the dominant vampire bites into his or her uke's neck during sex. It only happens between two vampires. It marks the uke with a scent that is special to the dominant vampire that when other vampires smell it they just know like an instinct that the vampire is claimed by another vampire. The dominant will usually never be too far from the uke and will not cheat on the uke as the mating claim metaphorically bounds the two together by an invisible chain that some say has been there all along." He turns away from Mello. "I left my parents coming to the orphanage because I didn't want to drink human blood as they kept insisting I had to so I had to get away from them. Now then… Let's go back to the orphanage." He starts to head back to the orphanage but Mello races to catch up to the pale boy grabbing his sleeve making them both stop.

"Near you can't just push this all away. Your parents, blood related or not, love you and at least you have parents. You don't have to go back to them if you make a contract with me. You can stay with me at the orphanage." Mello starts demanding.

"I don't want to hurt you Mello. Please understand that. I came to the orphanage to avoid the two I see as my parents." He glances back to the forest when a howling like noise is heard then he looks back to Mello. "Go back to the orphanage. I'm not the only one out here feeding on blood and if they catch you well they'll drain you of your blood. Be careful and go straight to the orphanage." He then dashes away using his super speed.

Mello walks back to the orphanage and he couldn't sleep that night.

The next day…..

Mello walks down the rooming hall still a little sleepy but he pushes it aside. 'Last night was not a dream. Near really is a vampire and he is going to die if he doesn't drink human blood. Then I won't have anyone to call my rival that keeps me on my toes.' I feel just about ready to force feed him my blood but I am not sure how a vampire starved for blood would react if I did that so I need to rethink that.

Near passes by me and I stop walking turning around.

"Near." My voice stops him and he glances back over his shoulder to me.

"Yes Mello?" He asks calmly as if nothing had happened.

"Will you make a contract with me? It's not that hard and I know what I am doing." Mello doesn't get to say anymore.

"No. You don't. You are asking me to make a contract with you which will mean I'll be feeding off of your blood along with having to take your life when it's your time to die. Wouldn't it be suspicious if we were suddenly close?" Near points out since they are alone.

"Near." Mello moves closer to the boy. "They can think whatever they want I don't care. You're the only person who can truly give me a challenge. Please Near just make a contract with me."

Near sighs softly. "I don't want to hurt you."

Mello shakes his head. "You won't be hurting me."

"No." Near says sternly. "Do you even know what it's like to be bit by a vampire? Our victims experience pain when being bit. I will be hurting you if I make a contract."

"You think I'm scared of a little pain?" Mello almost laughs. "Yeah right." He shakes his head again then looks back to Near. "I'm not giving up. Make a contract with me."

"Mello it's not just a little pain." Near shakes his head softly. "You really have no idea what you are getting into." With that he turns walking away. "I have already decided I am leaving." He tells the other. "I am leaving so I don't hurt anyone." He continues to walk away not saying anything else.

Mello chases after him. "Near!" He grabs the back of Near's shirt making the male stop with Mello standing behind the vampire. "I told you I am not giving up."

"You don't know what you're doing Mello. Just let it go." Near shifts so his shirt slips out of Mello's grip. "Trust me. You don't want to go through with it."

Someone watching the two through binoculars smirks as he watches the two converse. "So that's how you're going to play it?" He hums as Near walks away from Mello. He lowers the binoculars. "Well we'll have to see about that." He gets up and walks away pushing up his sunglasses on his face as they start to fall off.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter five:

"Near don't do this to yourself." Mello chases after Near but once the mostly albino boy turns the corner he seems to have vanished when Mello turns the corner. But Mello knows better and knows Near used his speed to dash away. 'Why is he so persistent on not drinking human blood?' He wonders as he goes on a quest to look for Near. He ends up not finding the boy.

When Near doesn't want to be found it's usually almost impossible to find him.

"Mello!" Matt calls to his friend upon spotting him.

Mello turns to face the other. "Ah Matt."

Matt looks into Mello's eyes through the orange lenses of his goggles. "Mello I got the information. It took another laptop because of the virus that is meant to completely mess up your computer but lucky for you I work wonders with technology. I got the information onto another laptop while the other got messed up. If it was anyone else they wouldn't have been able to do it. And guess what I found out! Near is actually a-" He is cut off.

"A vampire." Mello states cutting off Matt.

Matt blinks. "Yeah. How'd you find out?"

"I found him in the forest drinking a rabbit's blood." Mello shrugs as if saying 'no big deal.' Then he looks serious. "Just don't tell anyone else what Near really is."

"Why? We could use this against him! Isn't that what you wanted?" Matt raises an eyebrow.

"Matt. Near is dying. Plus if word got out that he's a vampire that can cause a lot more trouble than even I'd like to cause." Mello points out.

Matt's eyes widen. "Dying? But aren't vampires immortal?"

"They age slower than us humans and are different yes but they aren't immortal." Mello informs him. "At a certain age they have twenty four days at most to drink human blood before they die. Near has sixteen days at most left."

Matt gaps surprised. "That short amount of time?"

Mello nods. "Yeah he's already gone eight days without drinking the human blood he needs to stay alive."

"So what do we do? Just leave it?" Matt tilts his head seeming to get head around most of what is being said to him. He isn't third for nothing.

"I'm not going to let my rival die without beating him." Mello responds. "I'm trying to get him to make a contract with me but he refuses."

"Well then let's go find him." Matt says willing to just follow Mello like a puppy.

"I don't know." Mello admits. "I don't think he wants to be found right now." He looks down.

Everyone who knows Near or are a part of Whammy's know that if Near doesn't want to be found then it is almost impossible to find him though most consider it impossible as no one has ever found him when he didn't want to be found.

Matt pats him on the shoulder. "He'll turn up."

"What if he already left? He's planning on leaving soon because before a vampire dies they go crazy going on a killing spree till they satisfy their hunger." Mello tells the other.

"To Near's room!" Matt grabs Mello's hand and drags Mello to Nears room.

Mello stumbles after Matt as they head to Nears room. He had checked there first but Near wasn't there so maybe he's there now.

They stop in front of Near's closed door.

"Well doors closed. Maybe he's inside." Matt says knocking then pauses waiting for a reply.

Silence is what greets them and if this was some cartoon then the sounds of crickets would be heard, drifting through the air into peoples ears, from seemingly nowhere.

Mello opens the door after a little of waiting. He goes right on inside with Matt following.

Near is nowhere to be seen in the room and the two boys look for the mostly albino boy only to turn up nothing.

"Or I guess he isn't here." Matt says out loud though it was meant to mostly be spoken to himself.

"I noticed." Mello agrees. "He had better not have up and left cause if he has then I will hunt him down only to kill him then have him form a contract or drink human blood so I can beat him without having such an easy win!" He huffs.

Matt blinks and rubs the back of his head as he looks away from Mello to a point where wall meets floor, not that the blonde was really paying much attention to the red headed gamer. 'Well this sounds like something that I'm going to be dragged along for. Poor Near. I wonder if he actually knows what he's gotten himself into with Mello. I swear Mello is high and intoxicated at the same time with love for Near. Even if he doesn't know it himself. '

For the rest of the day the two can't find Near.

Mello is starting to think Near has left and is ready to storm out of the orphanage to find the vampire.

Matt has been trying to help his friend keep an eye out for Near then night falls upon them.

The two are walking along through past the others room but Mello makes a turn to head into Near's room.

This time he is in there obviously just getting ready to leave.

"Near." Mello goes in heading for Near.

"Mello." Near says taking a small step back.

Mello stops right in front of Near. "Don't you dare fucking leave."

"I already told you Mello." Near frowns. "I have only limited time left. If I stay here too long I will go on a killing rampage when my hunger gets to me. I cannot stay here."

"You can." Mello insists. "Make a contract with me."

"No." Near says strongly. "Mello I will not bring you into this."

"Near." Mello begins.

"Mello I told you no." Near grabs his stuff after closing his bag since he is pretty much ready to go.

"Oh no you don't." Mello growls in warning making sure he's in the way of Near leaving. "You think that I've been waiting for you all day and will just let you leave!? No!"

Near looks down for a moment then his eyes flicker to Mello and Mello can see he is holding back on attacking currently. "Mello… Move."

"Forget it." Mello responds.

"Mello. I may be running on shorter time than I expected." Near tells the other.

"All the more reason to get you to make a contract with me." Mello tells him.

"No Mello." Near pushes past Mello and the other spins around chasing after Near.

However Near uses his speed to dash away before either Mello or Matt have a chance to stop him.

Mello snarls in frustration.

Matt turns to Mello feeling a sweat drop drip down the back of his neck.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter six:

It's dark out and the air is chilly enough that if you are not prepared for it can give you chills.

Near slows to a walk and looks behind himself but sees no one. He sighs in relief then turns away only to head off on his way after adjusting his bag. He hopes he can make it far enough away in time. "I need to hunt." He mummers to himself.

…

Mello turns to Matt. "Gather your stuff. We're leaving." He heads to his own room with that.

"Yes sir." Matt says then heads to his own room knowing better than to argue.

Once they have their bags packed they leave as well.

Out into the chilly air of the night.

Mello's face shows enough determination that he will not let anything get in his way.

"Where do you think we should go first?" Matt asks.

"We need to find Near right away. Before he makes it too far." Mello responds.

"Um…... Shouldn't we find a place to stay first?" Matt asks.

Mello glares at Matt. "If we waste any time then Near could get away never to be seen again." He growls. "We are finding him now!"

"Yes sir." Matt salutes Mello for a few seconds then lowers his hand. "Where do you think we go first?"

"Some place that will have good animal hunting. Maybe an abandoned building." Mello tells him as he looks around himself.

"I think I know a place." Matt says.

Mello perks up turning to his friend. "Where?"

"Follow me." Matt takes the lead jogging with Mello following after him.

Neither of them notice the figure in the shadows watching them and the figure smirks with a quiet short breathy evil laugh.

Matt rounds a corner and stops.

Mello stops beside him and looks up at the building.

It definitely is abandoned.

Mello's best guess was that this place was once some kind of hotel.

"I've heard stories about this place being infested with rats." Matt tells Mello.

Mello nods. "A good place to start." He leads the way inside through a broken part of the wall.

Matt follows and the two begin looking around.

"Look for dead rats or any sign of movement that looks like him." Mello instructs Matt who nods.

The two continue to walk and look around in the building.

A figure sneaks up behind them as it follows the two through the building.

Until Matt falls a step behind Mello….

The figure moves in grabbing Matt with one hand over Matt's mouth and the other around his body to keep him from struggling too much. The figure hits Matt on the head enough to make him become knocked out leaving a few drops of blood on the floor.

"There seems to be no sign of Near this way." Mello says. "Any ideas where he might be Matt?" He stops when he realizes he can't hear Matt. "Matt?" He turns and his eyes widen as he sees a grinning figure behind him holding a pipe over the figures head.

The figure swiftly slams the metal pipe onto Mello's head knocking him out.

…

"If he won't do it on his own we will make sure he does it." The brunette male says to the other.

"We will need to find the perfect human and make sure he can smell the blood enough that will get him to take human blood. We will not be losing our son." The other male says in agreement. The raven haired male turns to a bat waiting on a bird perch for when a pet bird is out of it's cage. "Go! Find him and your partner! Make sure you know where he is! In two days come back to us and give the location."

The bat spreads it's wings taking off to go do as ordered as it flies out the window.

"We cannot mess up with this."

"…. I know…"

…..

Near is looking around for some animals to feed on as he walks along through an alley way. He looks around himself only to exit out of the alley not having any luck then stops as he comes across the smell of a vampire he doesn't recognize.

As soon as he smells the scent he gets a bad feeling so he follows the scent trail.

"What is these two other smells?" He whispers to himself as he can smell two more scents but the vampire's smell is stronger than the other two's so he can't identify it. He follows it to an abandoned building only to freeze as he realizes what the scents are. "Oh no!" He races into the building follow the scents hoping that he isn't too late. He stops as he comes to a spot only to stare in horror.

Laying there on the ground is Mello and Matt's bags, a metal pipe and a few drops of blood.

Near hurriedly grabs the bags and follows the scent trail back out as he moves quickly due to his hunger starting to get to him especially since there was a few drops of human blood on the floor.

There is some squeaks and he looks up.

There is two bats flying a little above him though they are also a little in front of him in the air.

"I'm glad to see you two." Near says. "Come down here for a moment."

The two bats come over.

Near hands them the two bags so one bat is carrying one each. "Take these to the safe house then tell my parents that I need help. Tell them two humans that came looking for me have been kidnapped at this location. GO!"

The two bats fly off slower than before but managing.

Near heads on his way following the scent trail as he uses his speed to try to get there faster. He finds himself by the edge of town at a large building that looks well kept as it almost looks like some kind of school like house. He looks at it as he slows to a stop. "Here huh?" He closes his eyes then opens them in determination. "No matter. I can do this. It's my fault to begin with." He begins moving towards the building.

…..

Matt groans as he begins to awaken. He opens his eyes to halfway. "Ow my head." He whines only to blink as he notices that he isn't someplace he recognizes. He looks around only to that he is in a dimly lit large open area in a building almost a school gym but it isn't a school gym. "What? What's going on?" He tugs on his bonds that hold him to a chair however he isn't going to get out of them since they are wrapped around his torso as well as his hands being tied to the back of the chair so he stops. He turns only to notice Mello who is also tied to a chair in front of him but there is a gap between them as if to make sure they can't reach each other. "Mels!"

Mello groans as he too begins to awaken. He opens his eyes blinking them partly open almost as if he is sleepy.

"Mello! Are you ok?!" Matt calls to his friend.

Mello raises his head looking to Matt with half open eyes.

Matt looks relieved to see this.

Mello blinks open his eyes more as he more awake now. He looks around himself. "Where are we?"

"I don't know." Matt answers.

Mello turns to the bonds holding him and he struggles trying to get free.

"It won't work." Matt tells the other. "We are stuck."

Mello stops and glares at the rope. He looks up to look around to try to figure out what is going on. "I saw a figure of someone before he knocked me out with a metal pipe."

"Who do you think it was?" Matt whimpers in fear.

"It isn't Near that much is for sure." Mello says as he looks back to the binds.

"Good to see you both are awake." A voice almost seems to echo around the two.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter seven:

"W-who are you?" Matt stammers trying to find whoever is speaking.

"Who am I?" The mysterious voice speaks only to laugh. "Why it doesn't matter wo I am. But don't worry you won't need to know who I am in the end."

Matt swallows harshly in pure fear.

Suddenly…

A shriek of a bat is suddenly heard from somewhere else.

There is a pissed off hiss before the mysterious voice speaks again.

"Seems I have some other business to attend to. Stay here and wait for me to return so we may pick up where we left off."

There are footsteps as someone leaves the room.

…..

Near begins looking around as he walks through the building.

The other vampires smell is so strong that it's really hard to pick up a trace of Mello and Matt.

Near continues with no lose of hope yet until he stops outside of heavy duty double doors. He inhales deeply through his nose to confirm what he is smelling.

Yes! It's Mello and Matt!

He turns to the doors. "Doors that are good to stay strong even as a human the vampire want's to drink from tries to break it apart." He mummers to himself. He tries the door knob and finds it unlocked. He opens it and heads inside only to find Mello and Matt tied to chairs. "Mello! Matt!" He rushes over to them.

"Near!" Mello says happy to see him as Near begins working on untying Matt.

Near speaks before another word can be said. "We need to hurry. That vampire that took you could be here any second. He might follow my trial and find us." He gets Matt free.

Matt gets up while Near goes over to Mello to get him untied. "Do you know who it is?"

"Unfortunately not." Near responds as Mello is freed. "Let's go."

The three hurry out of the room and begin running through halls of the building hurrying to get out of there.

Suddenly in one hallway Near slows to a stop only to put his hands on the top part of a single stanchion that seems to have been parked there for now for whatever reason.

He leans against it panting as he hunches slightly.

Mello skids to a stop and looks back. "Near!" He rushes back to Near as Matt also skids to a stop. "Are you ok?"

"My…. Hunger…. It's…. So…. Strong." Near pants out.

"Come on Nera. You can keep going." Mello says in encouragement.

"Go without me." Near says mostly catching he breath leaving him with a small somewhat pant.

"We aren't leaving you!" Mello argues.

Near looks up to Mello with yellow eyes. "GO!"

Matt grabs Mello and hurries away with Mello stumbling behind him.

"No! We have to go back for him!" Mello tries to get out of Matt's grip.

"You should honor what he told us. We are lucky to be alive thanks to him." Matt tells Mello. "We owe our lives to him."

"Which is why we shouldn't have left him behind." Mello argues.

Matt looks down sadly. "I didn't want to leave him behind too." He admits a little softly. "But his eyes… He was very serious about us going… Shouldn't we honor his request?"

"Matt!" Mello snaps as he glares at the other. "Near needs us!"

"He can take care of himself."

"You saw how he was! He is struggling with his hunger! He looks so weak! How does your mind even comprehend that he is strong enough to make it on his own!?"

Matt sighs softly as he closes his eyes to speak then opens them again as speaks the last word that he wants to say. "I can't explain as more than a gut feeling. But we should trust Near. I have a feeling that in his hunger he will hunt down the one that brought us here to give us a chance to escape. I just have this feeling that he will be alright."

Mello goes quiet for a few moments. "I don't want to lose him….."

Matt turns to look over his shoulder giving Mello a gentle and sympathetic smile.

….

Near walks along as he looks around himself. "You're ok." He whispers to himself under his breath as he feels the sharp tug on his hunger. "You just need to make sure that the other vampire is distracted enough that Mello and Matt can escape."

…..

Mello and Matt turn down into another hall but they only get to half way through it before needing to skid to a stop as a stranger drops down from above to in front of them.

The stranger has cut short dirty blonde hair that looks almost brown and deathly looking pale skin. He has blood red eyes, a black pull over shirt like sweater, tan brown pants and black runners. His lips turn upwards into a smile that shows off his super sharp vampire fangs as he has his mouth open slightly to show more than his teeth.

Matt begins backing up a little slowly and his hand slips out from it's grip on Mello.

The stranger lunges forward straight for one of the two.

"MELLO LOOK OUT!" Matt yells as he reaches a hand out towards Mello.

A cry of pain is what follows.

Matt lowers his arm a little slowly in horror as he watches in pure horror as Mello raised his arm to defend himself only to be bitten on the inside of his wrist.

Mello starts to fall backwards with the stranger following.

Near races over and slams a hard kick to the strangers side making the stranger let go of Mello with a gasp of pain as he is thrown away from Mello.

Mello falls to the ground on his back he is gasping in pain.

"Mels!" Matt races over to his friend.

Mello notices the stranger charging for Near now and rolls onto his stomach to try to crawl to help Near but as soon as he tries to pull himself with his bitten arm he gasps louder in pain only to roll onto his back now with his head facing the stranger and Near. His eyes wide in pain as he lays there starting to pant as if in too much pain to move.

Matt falls to his knees beside Mello and he looks over his best friend only to look down to the bite wound. He begins to reach towards the wound with a shaky hand but pulls away making his hand into a fist as it goes to hover by his chest.

The holes where Mello was bitten seems to be infected with something as mostly on the inside it's black.

Matt stares wide eyed in horror and fear at his best friend who is starting to sweat. He has no idea what to do and how to save Mello.

Near is struggling against the other vampire as both have yellow eyes as they fight each other. He jumps onto the vampires back only to grip his head trying to rip it off.

"You have the strength of a youngling." The other vampire hisses.

"I am a youngling." Near hisses back.

The other vampire pauses then laughs. "So pathetic! A youngling away from it's creator or parents!" He smirks at Near. "You have quite the rebel spirit. Don't ya?"

Near narrows his eyes. "You can never even begin to understand." He swings a kick for the other vampire's head as he lets go of it.

The other vampire grabs Near's ankle stopping the kick in it's tracks only to laugh again. "Oh now I see. You have yet to drink human blood is that it?" He smirks widely. "Running away from what you need to do to survive? Running away from those who will force you to drink human blood?" He ignores Near's attempts to get free and he leans closer to Near's face staring into his eyes. "How pathetic." He uses his grip on Near to throw him into a wall making it dent inwards as well as crack harshly.

Near closes his eyes tightly as he slightly throws his head back with a loud gasp of pain.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter eight:

"I will destroy you then finish my meal." The other vampire begins to advance towards Near.

Near opens one of his eyes that are still yellow as he glares at the other vampire. He grabs something from a part of his bag, he feels lucky he didn't put anything that would break in there as it's only clothes, as the other vampire continues to move forward. He pushes himself forward and raises his hand gripping the object.

The other vampire stops and bares his fangs in a hiss of warning upon seeing what Near is about to do but it doesn't stop Near.

Before the other vampire can stop him, though he doesn't really try, Near slams the dagger into the other vampires chest.

The other vampire laughs. "Ha! You think that stupid knife is going… To….." He trails off as he begins to feel a burning pain. His eyes widen as it begins to spread.

Near pulls the dagger out and stumbles back two or three steps dropping the dagger to the ground panting slightly as he falls to his knees.

The other vampire slams a hand to where the wound is only to pull back with a hiss. He death glares Near. "What the fuck did you do to me!?" He demands.

"That dagger's bade is dipped in holy water. I snuck into a church to get that done. I knew I needed protection just in case."

The vampire falls to his knees and hollers in pain as his body dissolves into nothing.

Near turns to Mello and Matt as his eyes fade back to grey and he goes over to them only to sit on the same side as Matt so he is on the same side as the wound. He looks down at Mello only to look to the wound that is starting to develop black bruises. "That vampire injected venom." He says in realization.

"Can we help him?" Matt asks scared.

Mello can barely concentrate enough to see and hear the other two.

"There is one way." Near says looking to Mello's face. "But we don't have much time."

"How?" Matt turns to Near wanting his friend to be saved.

"I can save him." Near says as looks back to the wound and he blinks letting his eyes turn blood red. He swallows harshly then picks up Mellos arm so his wrist is up as well as well exposed with Mello's hand tilted back not far enough to hurt but still tilted back. He lowers his head quickly and closing his eyes as he sinks his own fangs into the bite wound, that is two holes where the fangs penetrated, so he can begin drinking Mello's blood.

Matt's eyes widen a little more at this as he watches Near drink from Mello.

Near finds that Mello's blood tastes pretty good but he is sure if there was no venom it would taste possibly amazing. He forces to make himself focus instead of trying to drink all of the delicious blood that he is drinking as he needs to focus on getting all the venom out even if he has to fight against himself.

Mello closes his eyes blacking out as Near continues to drink from him.

Near keeps focusing on what he is doing until finally the blood tastes much better than before. He fights against himself barely managing to pull his fangs out. He opens his eyes that are still red and a single drop of blood drips down Near's chin as it slips past his lips.

Mello's wound is now a clean looking wound that only looks like two holes from where the bite took place.

Matt stays silent as he tries to watch Near and Mello at the same time.

Near licks at the drop of blood only to raise a hand wiping it off and he licks the blood clean from his hand as he closes his eyes enjoying the delicious taste. He opens his eyes and as Matt watches Near's eyes fade to grey after a minute.

Matt turns to Mello's face. "Is he ok?"

"He should be." Near responds letting go of Mello's arm. "The bite wound will scar and feel cold to touch but it will heal." He explains. "All we should do now is get him to the safe house and get his wound bandaged so it doesn't become infected." He isn't sure he can pick up Mello with this strange feeling shooting through his body like lightning.

Matt notices something is up with Near. "What about you?"

"My body is changing." Near responds closing his eyes as he tilts his head up slightly and as he bites his bottom lip slightly. "I have drunken human blood."

"I can carry Mello." Matt offers as help.

Nera opens his eyes releasing his bottom lip and turns to Matt. "Thank you."

Matt shifts Mello onto his back then stands.

Near shivers at the strange feeling inside of himself but he gets to his feet anyways. He slightly leans against Matt, since his body is changing causing him to feel like his limbs are almost made of jello, as the two move to get out of the building and to the safe house.

…

Mello's eyes scrunch closed as he looks like he doesn't want to awaken then he blinks open his eyes finding himself staring at a ceiling. He is laying on his back a soft bed with his head resting on a soft pillow. His arms are on the outside of the blanket that is brought up to a little below his armpits. He notes that the room seems to be slightly dimly lit only because the curtains are closed as he notices out of the corner of his eye. He blinks his eyes to fully open instead of half way open and he turns his head to see Matt crouching next to the bed.

Matt meets Mellos eyes through the red heads goggles and he smiles. "Glad to see you are awake." He says sounding relieved.

Mello sits up a little slowly and sits there hunched over slightly as the blanket falls to being pretty much on his lap. "A dream?" He blinks as he notices something making him bring his one arm up to inspect it. His one wrist has white bandages wrapped around it that go to right at where his hand starts and to a little down his arm.

Matts miles sadly. "It wasn't a dream."

Mello lowers his hand as his head whips to look to Matt. "Where's Near?" He demands.

Matt turns gravely and points to the closed light brown wooden door.

Mello grabs the blankets with his hand that doesn't have the bandages around the wound. He throws the blankets off of him.

Matts hand falls to his side as he turns swiftly to Mello with wide eyes. "Mels! Wait!" He says starting to reach towards Mello to try to stop him as he tries to get to his feet turning so his legs are dangling over the edge of the completely white bed.

Mello has a very determined look on his face and he pushes himself off of the bed getting to his feet.

Matt watches as Mello walks to the door. He knows he should stop him but he turns away with his hands in his lap instead. "Maybe it's better this way..."

Mello grabs the door knob and twists it only to pull the door open. He steps out of the slightly dimly lit room. "Near?" He turns only to find Near leaning against a wall to the right of the door.

Near is leaning against the wall with his head down so his chin is resting against his chest. He doesn't look up to Mello. "I've already sent a message."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter nine:

Mello blinks at those words. "What do you mean? What happened?"

Near slightly looks up to Mello. "Seems Matt didn't tell you... What happened..."

"Near... Tell me what's going on and what happened. My memory gets blurry starting at a certain point."

Near looks away quietly for a few moments before turning back to Mello. "That other vampire... He... He injected venom into you. You were going to die... So... So I..." He closes his eyes with a soft sigh. "I drank your blood until I could no longer taste the venom."

Mellos eyes widen in surprise upon hearing this. "You... You..." He begins unsure what to say for half a second. "You saved my life."

Near looks back down. "I was scared that you wouldn't wake up. That the venom got too far into you before I could save you." He explains making Mello realize just how close to death he truly came to.

Mello smiles softly and puts a hand on Nears shoulder. "Hey. I'm still here right?" He tries to assure Near with a gentle look that appeared on his face when he smiled. "Just think that now we can return to Whammys or start a brand new life."

Near doesn't look at Mello still. "Mello

I can't."

Mellos face falls. "Why not?" He asks.

Near closes his eye for a moment with a soft sigh. "I already sent a message as I said earlier."

"What are you talking about?" Mello demands.

Near opens his eyes half way and slightly turns to Mello enough to stare into Mellos eyes. "I'm going back to live with the two I see as parents to me. Beyond Birthday and Always After."

Mello frowns. "But why?!"

"Because since I have drunken human blood I am now a fully fledged vampire." Near explains letting only his eyes flicker away. "I am returning to them as I have only them to help me with the ways of the vampire now that my body has made the change."

"Oh... I... I see..." Mello says disappointed.

"Mello?" Near raises his eyes again to the other.

"I'm sorry Near. I guess... I just wanted things to be well where we will be able to see each other." Mello closes his eyes softly and tilts his head up to the ceiling. "That we wouldn't have to say goodbye."

Near finds a pink blush dusting his cheeks at those words. "Mello..." He says feeling lost for words. He wanted to describe the feeling of hurt he's been feeling ever since he came to realize that he and Mello will have to part saying goodbye... He... He just doesn't know how to explain it... This pain he feels deep down inside of his soul.

Mellos eyes snap open as he if remembers something which is why he did that. He lowers his head turning back to Near. "Make a contract with me."

Near turns his head fully to look to Mello. "Mello-" he begins but the blonde cuts him off.

"Near. Please. Do this so we can stay together. Make a contract with me so we won't have to say goodbye."

Mello smiles kindly. "Also there is a second bonus mainly for you." He adds. "It is that you won't have to hurt or kill other human beings."

Near blinks and his eyes scan Mellos own for a few small moments of silence. "Mello... You've felt the pain that happens when a vampire bites its victim." He begins. "You're not thinking about that. You'll be feeling that over and over again."

Mello shakes his head closing his eyes softly with a soft smile. "This time I think it is you who doesn't understand Near." He opens his eyes half way and looks into Nears eyes. "I understand the pain of the bite. I understand what I am getting myself into."

Near opens his mouth to say something but Mello shushes him by putting a finger on his lips. He closes his lips as Mello puts a finger on his lips.

"Near..." Mello says and Near looks up from Mellos finger to look to Mellos eyes. "Please understand that I understand what it is I am getting myself into." He removes his fingers from Nears lip as he continues to watch Near with half open eyes. "But... I just can't lose you. Not just because I need to beat you fair and square but because... Because I've finally figured out this strange feeling inside of me."

Near tilts his head softly in question.

Mello smiles a little more. "I like you Near. You're not an enemy. You're someone I care for. I just never truly realized it or understood it until you saved me from death. Then it all became clear." He tells Near who moves his head to its rightful angle. "So please Near... Don't make me lose you..."

Near feels speechless at what Mello has just told him. He opens his mouth but can't find his voice so he closes it again to try to find his voice.

"So what do you say?" Mello asks smiling a little more as he sees the speechless Near. "Will you make a contract with me?"

Near pauses for a few moments then he finally finds his voice. "I don't want to lose you either." He responds.

Mello can't help but grin at this. "So you'll do it?"

"If Mello is absolutely sure he knows what he is getting into."

Mello puts and arm around Near's shoulders. "Don't worry I know."

"Now all that's left is to make it official." Near says turning to face Mello.

"How?" Mello asks.

"It's not that complicated. I just need to place a mark on you that will alert other vampires that you are in a contract with me or if they don't know then in a contract with another vampire." Near explains.

"And how do you do that?" Mello asks.

"With a simple bite in a certain spot." Near responds. "Right where your shoulder meets your neck. That spot is only bit by a vampire if it's their mate or someone that they are making a contract with."

Mello nods. "Alright." He agrees and raises a hand to move the collar of his long sleeved black shirt to expose the spot. "Let's do this."

Near swallows harshly then moves closer to Mello. He slightly stands on his toes as he opens his mouth exposing his fangs.

Mello closes his eyes waiting for the bite to take place.

Near spares Mello a final glance before sinking his fangs into the correct spot.

Mello clenches his teeth as he feels Near's fangs sink in. He holds back a hiss of pain as Near closes his eyes enjoying the warm delicious blood that floods his mouth.

The taste of the blood that can only be described as Mello's blood.

Near swallows the blood in his mouth then pulls his fangs out.

The vampire that did the bite cannot smell the small smell of the claim but other non-human creatures can letting them know to back off from that person.

Near pulls away from Mello and opens his eyes. He turns to a small table beside him where he placed the medical equipment that was used to help treat the bite on Mello's wrist. He bandages the bite he just made with a gauze square then he makes sure it stays there with medical tape as Mello opens his eyes to watch as best as he can. He puts the stuff down when finished. "There. Done."

Mello smiles. "Good."

"Now in exchange for feeding me your blood whenever it is needed I am bound to servicing you and protecting you." Near informs Mello.

Mello places a hand on the top of Near's head with a gentle smile. "Don't worry about it Near." He says trying to be assuring.

Matt has been watching from inside the room and turns away to the window even though the curtains are still pulled closed. "Well if this is how it is to be then so be it."

"Do you still need to go back to Always and Beyond?" Mello asks Near.

Near nods. "Yes." He tells Mello. "I need to make sure I can learn all that could not be taught to me before I became a fully fledge vampire." He explains.

Mello frowns but before he can speak Near continues.

"But you will be staying with me." Near gives a gentle smile. "You and I are now bound by the contract. So with that you will be coming with me."

Mello smiles seeming satisfied with that. "Sounds good."

Matt pokes his head out of the room. "Um. Am I being dragged along?" He asks uncertain as the other two turn to him.

Mello chuckles. "You won't be dragged along. You need to decide what you are going to do."

"Well where exactly is Always and Beyond?" Matt asks looking at Near.

"On the opposite side of town then where Whammy's is." Near responds.

"Oh. You know I think I'll start helping for when you two are done with what you need to do. You know so we can have a place to go once you two are all done." Matt says.

"You should look at getting yourself organized first." Mello comments making Matt turn to him.

Matt nods.

"Oh and your bags are on the coat hanger at the front door." Near adds.

Mello turns to Near. "Thanks Near."

Near nods in response.

"Let's go!" Matt takes the lead as they head to the front door.

They get there and sure enough the bags are there.

Matt grabs his then turns to Mello and Near. "Well. Good luck you two. Contact me sometime." He says knowing that Mello still has that cell phone that the two of them made together to stay in contact.

Mello nods. "Will do." He gives Matt a hug then Matt waves at Near before leaving off on his way.

Mello and Near watch him go for a few moments then Mello turns to Near.

"Where to now?"

"There is a train that will take us to the area we need to be in." Near says then turns slightly to look at Mello. "It'll be the safest bet since I am new to being a fully fledged vampire. We should get going right away."

Mello nods in agreement.

They grab their own bags, Near makes sure the safe house is locked up as well as putting on a pair of sunglasses then they head towards the train station.

Time for Near to return and for Mello to meet Always and Beyond.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter ten:

Mello and Near sit on the train as they ride it off to their destination.

Mello is watching out the window but turns to look to Near seeing the other also watching out the window. He can't help but smile and he reaches over gently putting his hand over top of Nears.

Near turns to look to their hands then looks to Mello surprised.

Mello just smiles at Near. He gets up and switches sides to sit next to Near.

Near can't help a small smile.

They arrive at their station a little later and get off.

Mello lets Near lead the way as they head off to the house where Always and Beyond are awaiting their arrival. "So what are they like?" He asks.

"Well they can be a bit protective but they are nice to those that they care for. To those that they don't care about it really ends up depending on what happens for how they feel about them." Near begins. "Oh and one thing you should know as well." He glances to Mello.

Mello looks to Near. "What is it?"

"Beyond's eyes are naturally red. If he is hungry his eyes turn to a color closer to mahogany red." Near explains. "Just a heads up."

Mello nods. "Alright thanks."

The two turn back to where they are going.

"Always is stronger than any other vampire and though the two are engaged they've been a little too busy with me to actually officially get married." Near adds. "Though I am sure once we are done with everything I need to learn they will start planning that. He also has something else unique to him. When he is depressed his eyes change to a pale blue color. It's quite interesting."

Mello hums in interest in response.

They pass by two others who stop to turn to them.

"My my you went for that vampire!?" The male says.

"Hardly anything there." The girl says in agreement. "Not even good looking."

Mello stops walking and his hands clench into fists.

Near stops and turns around. "Don't you have anything better to do?" He demands of the two.

The male moves closer as he stares at Near. "You can't be older than a youngling. It's pretty pathetic for you to have created a contract with someone like him. Especially with how pathetic you are."

Mello's jaw clenches and his fists clench harder almost breaking his skin.

Though his fist is looser with the hand that is attached to the wrist that got bit to avoid pain.

"I am a fully fledged vampire." Near informs them. "You quite don't understand anything. Besides what is a couple of werewolves doing in vampire territory in the first place?"

"We were just passing through." The female explains. "Which is why we are in human form."

The male looks to Mello. "Come with us instead of with this pathetic excuse of a vampire. Vampires are the worst."

"You should get out of here and consider this your only warning. This territory is claimed and the ones that own it will not show mercy." Near says in warning.

"Ha! If you're the most dangerous thing here then we might as well take over the territory. You are such a weakling who is a youngling pretending to be a fully fledged vampire. You are the most pathetic thing I have ever seen." The male werewolf says.

Mello snaps and he spins around only to stalk over to the male werewolf. He runs a little then slams a hard punch to the male werewolf's face knocking him back. He winces but ignores it to glare at the male werewolf. "You had better fucking watch your mouth!" He hisses in anger. "I owe him my life so you had better show him some fucking respect."

The male werewolf glares at Mello with a low growl.

Mello glances to the female werewolf. "I don't like hitting women but you try to attack or make fun of Near one more time and I will not hesitate on hitting you."

The female werewolf, probably being a weaker werewolf, grabs the male werewolf and hurries away obviously heading out of the territory as fast as possible.

As they leave Mello gasps in pain holding his bitten wrist. "Ah! Fuck I hit him with the hand attached to where I was bit."

Near comes over and gently places a hand over Mello's hand.

Mello looks to Near.

"Shouldn't I be the one defending you?" Near asks as he looks to Mello's wrist.

Mello smiles softly. "Did you really think I would let them talk trash about you and let them get away with it?"

Near looks up to Mello and gives a grateful smile.

"Don't worry about it." Mello assures Near. "By the way. Are all werewolves like that?"

Near shakes his head. "No. There is a variety of all living creatures. Including them. Those two are just two werewolves that are on the side of the variety scale that says that they aren't that nice."

"Oh I see." Mello nods in understanding.

Suddenly Near hugs him.

Mello blinks in surprise and glances down to Near. "Near?"

"Really. Thank you Mello."

Mello smiles again and he hugs Near back. "No problem." He assures him.

After a moment the two pull apart.

"Come on. Let's keep going." Near says.

Mello nods in agreement.

The two head out on their way to head to their destination.

Mello lets himself think about his new life with Near. He swears that even with the contract in place he will always protect and look out for Near.

The thoughts about their new life and his silent vow makes Mello almost grin.

"We're here." Near says after a bit of walking.

Mello snaps to reality and he looks to the building as they stop outside of it.

It's a very nice looking home that looks to be maybe three to four stories with a fence around it as well as the gate the two of them are standing in front of.

"It looks nice." Mello speaks the truth.

"Let's head inside." Near puts the passcode into the gate's lock system then the gates swing inwards as they swing open. He leads the way inside as they head towards the front door. He opens the door and the two head on inside. "I'm back!" He calls as he takes off his sunglasses.

A male comes rushing over. "My dear Near." He wraps his arms around Near happy to see him. He has light brown hair that reaches to a few inches below his ears, a blue pull over hoodie, slightly baggy jeans and black socks. He pulls away and opens his sea-blue eyes.

A raven haired male with red eyes, a black long sleeved shirt, baggy dark tinted jeans and bare feet approaches as Near and the brunette pull apart. He smiles at Near then turns to Mello as if he isn't quite sure about him. He looks Mello over as the brunette turns to the raven only to follow his gaze to Mello as if he had been too busy with being happy of Near's return to notice Mello.

"Always and Beyond this is Mello." Near says gesturing to each person as he says their names.

The raven moves closer to Mello and leans closer once he's standing in front of Mello only to sniff about two to three times.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter eleven:

"Hi." Mello says with a smile trying to not show how nervous he feels with this experienced vampire is leaning quite close to him.

"A contract?" The raven, Beyond, turns to Near.

Near nods. "That's right."

Beyond turns back to Mello. "So you got Near to finally drink human blood by getting him to make a contract with you." He leans away from Mello closing his eyes. "That's one way to go about it."

"Actually that's not what happened." Mello says to correct the other. "Actually." He shows the bandages on his one arm. "You see I got kidnapped by a vampire along with my friend when we went after Near after he left the orphanage. Near found out and came to save us. I got bit and Near drank my blood to get all of the venom out before it could kill me." He explains. "That's how it happened."

"Is that when you found out that he's a vampire?" Always, the brunette, asks.

Mello shakes his head. "I found him feeding and that's when I learned about it all. When I heard about what would happen if he didn't drink human blood I tried to make a contract with him. At the time he continued to refuse. When he left the orphanage me and my friend who follows me like a puppy went to go find him. We got kidnapped then you know the rest. The first time I offered to make a contract it was because I saw him as my rival who I needed to beat but as time went on I began to find that it wasn't because of rivalry. After I got bit by the vampire I came to realize that it was because I liked Near and cared for him. I just couldn't lose him. I finally convinced him after I awoke after him saving me."

"Ah so that's all that it was about." Beyond says. He moves closer to Mello. "You had better be telling the truth that you care for him."

"I swear on my life." Mello assures him.

Beyond pulls back then turns around. "Well come on in you too." He walks away with that.

Near follows after Beyond after he takes off his shoes since he trusts Beyond and Always along with Mello.

Mello also takes off his shoes then he and Always walk together deeper into the house.

"There's more to it isn't there?" Always asks.

"Huh?" Mello looks to Always.

Always turns his head to look to Mello with a knowing smile. "You love him don't you?"

Mello's eyes widen and a blush spreads across his cheeks. "I don't know what you are talking about."

Always just chuckles and the two arrive at the living room where Beyond is with Near. "Alright our dear Near." He says moving towards Near. "There is something we wanted to give you to celebrate you drinking human blood."

Beyond grabs something covered by a towel. He comes over to Near with it.

Mello watches as this goes on.

Beyond hands Near the thing. "Go ahead."

Near removes the towel to reveal a bat in a bird cage.

"Just for our little Near." Always says.

Near brightens. "Aw. He's so cute." He says. "Come here." He opens the cage door and the bat flies onto his shoulder.

"So adorable." Mello says almost as if in a trance.

Near smiles. "Thanks Mello. And thank you Beyond and Always too."

The three share a hug.

Mello moves over to Near as the three break apart. "Do you name it?" He asks.

Near nods. "Yup. Beyond's bat is called Nokomis which means the Daughter of the Moon while Always's bat is called Amenset meaning Daughter of the Sun."

"We were already close at the time so we agreed on the names when we would get our bats since we wanted names the came together." Beyond explains.

"So we decided to go with what we did." Always finishes.

"Alright." Mello watches Near. "What are you going to call your bat?"

Near looks to it thoughtfully then he decides. "Domino."

Mello smiles. "Should I have seen that coming?"

Near laughs a small joyful laugh.

Mello looks to be in a trance with a blush spreading across his cheeks.

"Well you've probably had a long day." Beyond says clearing his throat. "Why don't you Mello get some rest while we start working with Near?"

"You can share a room with Near." Always says with a wink to Mello.

Beyond opens his mouth to protest but Near speaks up.

"Ok. Come on Mello. I'll show the way." He takes the lead with a blushing Mello following.

"Are you sure about this?" Beyond asks turning to Always.

Always smiles at Beyond. "Just because you are dominant in the bedroom doesn't mean I am going to be submissive all the time." He tells the other.

Beyond smiles at his fiancée and goes over to the other wrapping his arms around Always's waist from behind nuzzling his neck. "That's one thing I love about you." He says.

Always smiles lovingly at the other as best as he can as his hands come to rest upon Beyond's hands. "I love you so much."

Beyond raises his head from Always's neck and the two kiss.

…..

Mello and Near enter into the room Near owns in the house.

It's a pretty decent room with a slightly large bed that has grey sheets including pillow case, the walls are a nice blue color, the carpet is white and the curtains pulled over the window are dark blue with dark grey designs that look like a cartoon sun mixed with flowers as well as slight paint splatter.

There are the other needed furniture and such as well as some toys and puzzles.

Mello can instantly tell that this is Near's room.

Near turns to Mello with still on his shoulder. "Well you go ahead and get comfortable." He tells him. "I've got training."

"Do you want me to be there for you?" Mello asks him.

Near shakes his head. "Don't worry I'll be ok." He assures Mello. "Always and Beyond are seen as my parents to me. I'll be fine. Besides you need the rest."

With that he leaves the room.

Mello watches him go then turns back to look inside of the room.

…..

Near approaches Beyond and Always. "Alright. I'm ready."

Beyond nods. "Good. We will start with basics. Do you remember the calculations for the shinigami eyes life spans?"

Near nods. "Yup."

After a few different calculations of the life spans they move on.

"Alright next is flight." Always says. "Flying is a good mode of transportation but you need to be careful on who sees you as you already know. Yes you can fly fast like how you run but there is the chance. We will also have to make sure we do some work with you and Domino to help get your bond to be strong."

Near nods in understanding.

…..

Mello is laying in the bed under the covers.

The bed is soft and just the right temperature but Mello just can't sleep.

The door opens making Mello turn to it.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter twelve:

Near comes inside and turns to shut the door.

"How'd training go?" Mello asks.

Near walks over to the nightstand putting a soft towel on it making it into a nice little bed. He then scoops Domino, who is tired, off of his shoulder putting Domino onto the soft towel to get some sleep. "It went pretty good." He says as he does this. He then crawls onto the bed beside Mello.

The two maneuver so Mello can hold the blanket open for Near to slip inside which he does.

Mello places the blanket over Near's body then wraps his arms around Near's waist.

Near slightly glances back to Mello. "Why are you so clingy suddenly?" He asks.

"Always and me had a very small talk and it made me realize something." Mello then nuzzles Near's neck only to place a kiss on it. "I love you Near."

Near blinks in surprise then he smiles. "Oh Mello." He rolls over, glad that Mello placed his injured wrist on the top instead of on the bottom as Mello keeps his arms around Near's waist. He smiles at Mello. "You have no idea how long I wanted to hear you say that. I… I love you too." He blushes softly. "You made it look so easy."

Mello laughs softly and shortly then pulls Near against him. "It will get easier Near. All it needs is time and those words will be said as if it's the subconscious doing it."

Near smiles. "I like that idea slash fact."

Mello kisses Near's lips gently. "You're my life."

Near blushes.

"Oh and you don't need to worry about the contract since we are mates now." Mello assures him.

Near blinks. "Mello…."

Mello hushes him. "You're my mate now. Ok? So don't worry about it. The bite was no longer for the contract but instead to make it official that we are mates. And as mates it's different from a contract. Do you understand?"

Near nods softly.

Mello smiles lovingly. "Good." He pecks Near's lips. "Now lets get some sleep."

The two close their eyes and they fall asleep together cuddling not long after making sure they are comfortable.

Always smiles as he had been listening on the other side of the door. He then leaves heading to his fiancée to be with him while their own bats sleep.

After all the sun will be rising very very soon.

That evening…..

Mello awakens to find Near gone. He sits up only to turn finding Domino still sleeping.

Near opens the room door trying to be sneaky making Mello smile.

"Morning… Or well evening." Mello corrects himself.

Near smiles. "Evening." He greets. He goes over to Mello after tossing his clothes into a hamper. "Did you sleep well?"

Mello nods and he sits up.

"How's the bite wounds?" Near asks as he sits next to Mello on the bed.

"The one from you is just a little sore." Mello tells him. "And the other bite wound stings and if I put too much pressure on it I get pain. But they are doing ok."

Near looks away regretfully.

Mello wraps his good arm around Near and pulls him so Near is laying back against Mello's chest. "Hey. Don't you dare beat yourself up about it. You did nothing wrong."

"But I was the reason behind both bites." Near says.

"Hush." Mello commands sternly. "You are not the reason. I am." He tells Near. "So don't you dare blame yourself for all this. Do you understand?"

Near pauses for a moment then he snuggles against Mello. "Ok." He agrees closing his eyes content with Mello's warmth.

"Say Near?" Mello asks as he brings the hand that has the wounded wrist to Near's hair stroking the others hair.

"Hm?" Near hums in question.

"Can two vampires feed off of each other?" Mello asks.

Near shakes his head as best as he can with his right side of his head against Mello's chest. "Not to satisfy hunger. We need human blood to truly satisfy our hunger passed the certain age as you already know. If a vampire drinks from another it is seen as sexual even though we have sex like how you humans do. The closest you would get to mates feeding with each other would be to drink from the same person if they are not quite hungry usually unless it's for other reasons like a date in which they might share more than one depending on how hungry they are."

"Ah." Mello says understanding this. "I understand."

"Can we sit here for a bit?" Near asks sounding content.

Mello chuckles. "Yeah sure." He agrees.

The two stay there like that for a bit before they finally get up. They head to the living room finding Beyond and Always are already up.

Beyond is sitting on the couch with his legs up as he flips through the TV channels.

Always is laying on his back with his head resting against Beyond's chest slash stomach area. He is playing with some red string or yarn trying to make it into different shapes only using his hands. He looks to see the two walking into the room. He smiles. "Good morning you two."

Beyond turns to the two. "Good to see you two up." He says then glances to his fiancée. "Can you pass me the blood jam on the coffee table?"

"Sure." Always agrees and shifts to grab it then hands it to Beyond.

"Thanks." Beyond says with a smile.

"No problem." Always goes back to what he was doing.

Mello takes a step forward. "There's something I want to say."

Everyone turns to him.

"Me and Near together." Mello announces.

Always gives a knowing smile.

Beyond turns to Near. "Is this true?"

"Well since last night yes." Near responds. "We decided on it before we went to bed."

There is a few moments of silence then the silence is broken.

"Alright Near." Beyond says. "We trust you to make good decisions."

Always lowers his hands to rest them on his chest. "I think it's great that you two got together. It's obvious that you both love each other very much."

Mello smiles glad that it went by so well.

"We have more training today." Beyond says. "Why don't you two go play or something?"

Near turns to Mello. "Come on Mello." He says. "I will show you around."

"Ok." Mello says in agreement.

The two race off to go look around.

Always watches them go smiling as Beyond also watches them go. "Our dear son is all grown up."

"It is appearing that way doesn't it?" Beyond responds.

Always closes his eyes and shifts up enough so his forehead slash top of his head area are against the underside of Beyond's chin as he nuzzles the other. "Yes. Yes it does."

Beyond looks down to Always as best as he can. "Oh A. My dear sweet A." He wraps an arm around Always's waist keeping him close. "It just all seems to be happening too soon."

Always snuggles to Beyond as close as he can. "I know Beyond. I know..."

The two stay there cuddling for a bit.

Meanwhile...

Near and Mello finish the house tour.

Near turns to Mello. "Hey you want to see something cool?"

"Ok." Mello agrees curious.

Near moves around behind him and wraps his arms around Mello from behind. "Trust me."

"I do."

Near zooms up into the sky and Mello makes a small cry of surprise.

They get to a certain spot in the air and Near begins flying them around the area.

Mello gazes down at the land below as they fly over it. "Wow." He gasps almost lost for words at the beauty of it all.

Near moves upwards to a cloud letting Mello reach down to drag his hand along the cloud.

The cloud is soft, damp and a little cold. It disperses on the part that is being touched and any part separated from the cloud disappears as it fades away.

The cloud comes to an end.

"I told you this was cool." Near says.

"You weren't kidding!" Mello says.

The two make it back to the house.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter thirteen:

Two years later...

Always and Beyond have warmed up to Mello so now they are all close now as Mello is part of the family by dating Near.

Near and Mello are packing their stuff.

Always and Beyond helped Mello get enough clothes to last him longer than the smaller amount of clothes he had with him.

Near and Mello have been talking about their own place ever since Nears training has been coming to an end.

It's just they needed a plan as well as the money to do this.

Now it is time for them to head out on their own with what they believe to be the perfect plan as well as money as Mello got a job.

They plan to start with an apartment

Always comes over to the two. "Say we know you've been looking for your own place so I got an idea." He hands Mello the paper in which Mello takes and looks it over.

"An acceptance for an apartment?" He then looks back to Always. "Are you sure?"

Always smiles. "The land lord owes me."

Mello smiles. "Thank you Always."

The two share a hug.

"It's no problem." Always says then a few seconds later they move apart.

"Well I'll let you finish packing." Always turns around and leaves the room heading along down the hall.

Always's P.O.V.

I hum softly in thought humming shortly as I think about how it all happened...

Flashback:

I walk along heading on my way to the destination I have in mind. I stop when outside of the place. I smile and head inside the building.

There stands a slightly older man doing some work.

"Do you have an appointment?"

I shut the door and take off my sunglasses in the dimly lit room. "Hello Jeff."

The man freezes and tenses. He slowly and a little shakily turns around to look at me.

"Remember me?" I ask moving closer to him.

He tries to scramble back only to trip over a box making him fall onto his butt only to try to scramble back backwards. "No…. No it can't be."

"Oh yes it is." I say as I back him up against a wall then I stop once I have him cornered. "It's good that you still remember me." I say licking part of my upper lip for a few moments then let my tongue slide back into my mouth.

"W-what do you want? What are you here for? H-how are you here?" Jeff stammers.

"I believe that you still owe me something." I tell him.

He swallows heavily. "W-what?"

I crouch in front of him. "You know have such a nice family don't you?"

"P-please don't come any closer." The man says terrified.

"Yes. I can remember them. You, your wife and your two children." I continue. "You know. On the day that you tried to kill me." I narrow my eyes at him.

"You're…. You're not here…. You're a ghost!" The man is trembling in his spot.

"Oh I am very much real Jeff." I reach over and put a hand on his arm. "See? I don't go through you."

He shivers terribly as soon as I do this. "C-C-cold."

I chuckle pulling my hand away. "Well Jeff. Enough of this silliness."

"What are you!?" He demands in pure fear.

I narrow my eyes that now turn yellow making Jeff's eyes widen in fear. "Jeff. You are really walking on eggshells right now."

"N-No way." He tries to press himself harder against the wall. "Yo-you're a vampire!?"

I hum. "Give the man a medal." I say. "Yes. I am and I am sure that you remember that fateful day very well." I smirk opening my mouth enough to let him see my fangs almost as if getting ready to bite him. "A vampire like the one that killed your mother and the day you tried to kill a child. However. Unlike your mother I was not one when you tried to kill me in cold blood." I close my mouth and frown at him. "Yes. Can't you remember it? I begged for you to spare my life. I pleaded for you to not kill me." I turn and notice the tape. "Oh? You held onto it?" I get up and pop it into the player. "The tape your wife made when you tried to kill me while your children slept."

The tape begins and I can see it all happening as if I'm reliving it.

The cold night air was slightly damp with incoming down pour.

I am running as fast as I can through an alley way trying to escape. I'm quite young and after my parents found out about my strength they panicked leaving me to the streets scared of my ability I was born with even if they didn't notice until I was a very young child….. They were scared of me….

But that doesn't matter to me as I've moved on.

I skid to a stop finding myself at a dead end when I come face to face with a man along with a lady.

The lady has a stroller with two sleeping children, one a new born and the other at most a toddler age. She raises a camera and begins to film me.

I begin taking steps back even though I was running to hurry to get away from some gang members with guns who didn't like me in their area. I am still a child after all but if I was older I am very sure I would have fought against them…. But I am just a human child. I am sure that I should have left them in the dust though that isn't my concern right now.

The man grabs an empty glass bottle and swings it towards me.

"No! Please!" I raise my hand to defend myself managing to break the bottle even though I gain some cuts from the broken glass I surprise the man.

The man smirks at me as I fall back onto my butt. "A strong one aren't you? Too bad for you I'm not one to show mercy." He raises the broken bottle.

"No! Please! Don't do this. Please spare me. Spare my life." I whimper in fear as I plead with him. "Please. Leave me alone. Don't do this! Don't take my life away!" I say with my cut hand still up and I give a small shake of my head as I plead with him.

The man comes at me.

I raise my arms to try to block the attack. "NO!" I scream.

The man slashes my arms making me scream in pain then in the time that I lower my defenses he stabs me in my chest.

My eyes widen and I open my mouth to scream at the excoriating pain but my vocal cords seem to have gone mute. I fall onto my back as my body begins to grow heavy as I find I can't move.

Darkness swarms the edge of my vision.

The bottle is dropped as the woman calls for Jeff to go and with that the man and woman hurry away with their children.

Leaving me behind in the alley.

The tape ends there with a final shot on me as I lay there in the alley dying.

I however let myself remember the rest. I remember laying there for I don't know how long as I try to fight the darkness threating to take over my vision.

Suddenly I see my friend from the streets who is a young vampire on his own whose name is Beyond hovering over me with fear in his eyes.

"Always!" He calls to me as I can barely make out his words. "No! Don't leave me!" He starts to cry. "Don't leave me!"

I start to black out as I find it getting harder to breath.

At this point until a later point I remember how things went as Beyond described them while doing my best to imagine them.

Beyond gathers me in his arms pulling me close. "No! Always! Don't leave me alone!"

Another male walks up making Beyond look up as the male stands there looking at the two.

Beyond pulls me closer protectively even as tears slip down his face.

The man lets his eyes turn red. "Do not fear. I am here to help." He moves closer and kneels by us. "Will you let me?" He blinks letting his eyes turn back to their original brown color.

Beyond hesitantly lays me on the ground.

The older vampire examines me then runs a hand through his dark blonde hair that is styled quite nice looking even as he has a more punk dress style that only seems to affect him when it comes to clothes. "There is one way to save your human friend." He tells Beyond as he can smell that my blood is human obviously.

"How?" Beyond asks with a plead in his voice.

"He needs to drink vampire blood. He will be turned into a vampire but it is the only way to save him." The older vampire explains.

Beyond glances around then finds the broken bottle. He picks it up slicing open his wrist then puts his wrist to my mouth throwing the bottle backwards not caring about it. "Come on Always. Drink."

The older vampire reaches over and strokes my throat which causes me to begin swallowing the blood falling into my mouth.

As this continues my wounds begins to heal and I begin to become more awake again as I see a light coming over to me getting brighter as it comes closer until it blinds me.

The older vampire stops stroking my throat. "Stop. That's enough."

Beyond pulls his arm away even as I try to follow it but I don't get very far before I let my head fall back to the ground. His

I feel two of my teeth start to ache as they grow and sharpen to become vampire fangs that are perfect for hunting. I blink open my eyes that get a slight tingle in them for a few seconds and I shiver as if all warmth is suddenly gone from me. I find myself staring at the two that saved me. "Beyond?"

Beyond looks relieved and he hugs me close. "I thought I lost you."

I hug him back feeling strength coming to me. "Thank you." I tell him.

Beyond looks to the older vampire and I follow his gaze. "Thank you for helping save him."

The older vampire smiles. "It is quite alright." He says. "Say. Are you two on your own?"

We both nod.

The older vampire smiles sympathetically. "Well then. Let me take you two in. You'll need a fully fledged vampire to help you as younglings."

"I'm not a vampire." I say feeling confused.

"Um Always….." Beyond grabs a broken hand held mirror that is by a trash bag only to show me that my eyes are red. "We had to change you into one to save you."

I blink in surprise as I notice this and I look back to Beyond's eyes.

He tosses the mirror away. "But that doesn't matter. You're my best friend. Even if you were not born a vampire like me."

I hug him. "Same to you."

He hugs back and I notice that his wound is healing but I don't say anything as his body has been working on healing it even if it's kind of slow.

We break apart and turn to the man.

"Alright." Beyond agrees.

The man takes us away to his place where he grabs two cups of water.

We learned that his name was Tarou on the way here and Beyond's wound closed just as we reached Tarou's place.

He grabs a bottle and takes out two large, for pills, red pills only to dump them into one glass. He grabs a stir stick only to stir it letting the two pills dissolve quickly into the water turning it blood red. He moves the stir stick to the other glass doing the same for it.

Once done he throws out the stir stick only to move the glasses in front of me and Beyond.

"Since you two are younglings you can feed your hunger with these. Have you ever had them?" Tarou asks us.

Both of us shake our heads.

"Well drink up. They are blood supplement pills."

We grab the glasses and begin drinking finding that it is like we are actually drinking blood as well as that it is filling our hunger for blood. We finish it and put the cups on the kitchen island we are sitting at.

I know about how vampires eyes change as Beyond explained and showed me especially when the changes happened like when a group of teenage bullies started poking fun at me.

"Welcome to my home younglings." Tarou says kindly. He raised us and taught us everything we needed to know as we grew up.

Even if you are changed into a vampire you still grow but your aging switches from human to vampire aging.

Tarou knew the scent of the man who attacked me and he explained that the man's other was killed by a vampire who his father killed after as he watched the vampire he didn't know get killed after killing the mother.

Though Tarou is not really sure why I was attacked by the man.

Over the years me and Beyond went from best friends to dating to lovers.

Tarou died of a vampire only illness almost three years after me and Beyond finally got to drink human blood for the first time.

Then almost two years after that me and Beyond would find Near who was born a vampire taking him in to raise him as our own even though he was old enough to know that we were not his actual parents it didn't matter.

He is our son.

I blink as it comes to an end making me come back to the present. I notice in the reflection of the TV that my eyes are no longer yellow as they now are their usual sea-blue color as I had remembered a fond moment but as I am reminded that my life was almost taken from me by a heartless man my eyes turn yellow again. I eject the tape and take it. I turn back to Jeff with the tape in one hand. "Did you get off in trying to kill me?" I demand not holding back any anger in my voice and stare.

He shakes his head. "N-No. I swear I didn't."

I move back the few steps to him. "Then why did you do it?" I ask.

"You reminded me of the vampire that killed my mother." Jeff informs me. "But looking at you now…. I see no resemblance."

I frown at this. "You tried to kill me even though you knew I had no connection to the vampire that killed your mother?" I growl.

"The past is the past right!" He responds trying to make me decide not to harm him.

"I spent a good while tracking you down and when I found you I knew that one day it would come in handy." I tell him. "The past isn't the past. Especially if you kept the tape." I wave it as I mention it. "You know. You owe me."

"You didn't die!" He says. "You lived. I don't owe you anything."

"I would have died if I didn't know a vampire!" I snarl at him. "You almost killed me. So yes you owe me. And." I smirk. "If that doesn't convince you then how about I say this." I continue to watch him. "I'm sure you would hate for something to happen to your family."

His eyes are so wide in fear. "T-they wouldn't believe you. No one will." He says shakily.

"Oh but I could let them become dinner for me and the other vampires I care for while you watch. Or." I smirk a little more. "I could hand this tape in to the police with your address and name."

He swallows harshly.

"Now listen to me. I know your full name since you have it on your apartment advertisement so it won't matter if you try to run. The police will still find you and your family." I tell him. "So you should know better than to disagree with me. Cause who are they going to believe in? The one with the tape or the one that only has his words?"

He has a violent shake in terror since he knows if the authorities ever got a hold of the tape then his family would be torn apart.

"Now that I have you on my side. Here is what I want. You need to give an apartment to two that I care for and you had better treat them well with no funny business." I say in a tone that tells him I am very serious. "Or else you can say goodbye to your family one way or another."

He swallows harshly again then nods. "I-I-I'll give you anything!"

I smile. "Good boy. I'll be keeping the tape to make sure that you keep your side of the deal."

End of flashback.

After that it was all very easy to get everything done.

No one's P.O.V.

Years later…

Mello and Near head off to live on their own and the landlord is extremely nice to them even if he tries to avoid coming into contact with them if possible.

Mello made sure to go to the game store Matt works at to make sure the other, who has himself stable in his own apartment in a different area closer to the store, has the address.

Many years later…

Always and Beyond got married a year after Mello and Near moved into their new apartment.

Mello, Near and Matt are fully grown adults now.

Mello and Near have been thinking about a child but have had no luck since Mello is still human so Mello cannot give him that special mark yet so they'll need to wait till they are ready for Mello to be a vampire.

Mello and Near are in their apartment since Mello doesn't work today when he decides on something.

"Near."

Near turns to his mate.

Mello smiles. "Turn me."

Near blinks in surprise. "Are you sure….?"

Mello gets up from the couch only to go over to Near crouching beside him on the carpeted living room as he puts an arm around Near's shoulders. "I'm sure."

Near nods and gets up leading Mello, who also gets up, to the kitchen. He grabs a knife and cuts open his arm.

Mello brings it to his lips quickly drinking the blood to get as much as he can before the wound closes enough that he won't be able to get really any blood. He pulls away when he can't really get much blood.

Near watches as Mello changes with his fangs growing, his eyes becoming red and the shiver that passes through his body as his human warmth leaves his body.

Mello blinks as the transformation ends.

"Welcome to the vampire side." Near says. "I have drunken from other humans during my training with Always and Beyond as well as when I couldn't wait for you to get home." He tells Mello what the other already knows. "So now I get to teach you about being a vampire."

Mello smiles. "I can't wait." He says and the two kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too." Near responds.

It only took a week for Mello to be able to place the special mark on his beloved mate.

Three years later the two would have their own child who is a beautiful daughter, with Near's hair color with her hair being straight likes Mello's and Mello's eye color with Near's gentle look, that they have named Cynthia.

The end.

AN:

Hope you enjoyed this story.

I found this old story and decided to finish it so here it is!

Reviews are awesome and flamers will be used to make cake!

Mello.


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